by Farah Karim*
I met Esther in my first
Semester at San Diego State and we became BFFs instantly. We started
hanging out and take classes together and our bond grew stronger and stronger.
By our sophomore year we started planning our graduation trip, Europe? China? ,
South America? Esther suggested “Israel?” and I was taken back by her
suggestion. “But it is not safe Esther I replied and they will not welcome me
as a Muslim”. I grew up having a very negative perception of Israel,
I know they are at war with Muslims and I know from my friends who used to frequent
the mosque that Israelis are not fond of Muslims . They don’t like us and we
don’t like them. I came to know that Esther had gone to Israel in High school
in the summer after graduation organized by “Taglit Birthright Israel” and had
the time of her life. She told me Israel is not as evil or bad as it is
portrayed in media and that It is a beautiful country that I should visit and
see for myself what it is all about. #BeOpenMinded
Lucky for me The David
Project on campus was planning a free trip to the Holy Land so I packed my bags
and headed over there with a diverse group of students: Jews, Muslims, Latinos,
Gays and even a few African Americans. #SpringBreak
I consider myself a
moderate Muslim: I pray, I fast Ramadan, I observe Eid and eat Halal meat. I
don’t wear Hijab but my mom does. I plan to marry a Muslim and go to Mecca for
Hajj. I don’t speak or understand Arabic but I can read it and read the Quran
in high school. I am a “Sushi” my Father is Sunni and my mother is Shia. I
voted for Obama and I listen to NPR. I am a regular American girl who just
happens to be Muslim; I watch reality TV, love Football, go to school and enjoy
Mexican food. #MuslimAndProud
When we
arrived to Tel Aviv the moment we stepped out of Ben Gurion airport
I sensed that Israel is a lot like California: the weather, the diversity, the
traffic, even the air smelled and felt familiar kind of like in the same
way how you see Mexicans in Southern California. It was here that we were
told that Israel is full of 7 million different Israeli opinions of what to do
with their portion of the land. What surprised me most about Tel Aviv was how diverse and tolerant it was, I
saw Russians, French, American, Canadian, Iranian and African Jews
all living side by side , all speak English very well, all educated
, stylish and cultured. When I closed my eyes at night I felt
like I was in La Jolla but with a zestier ambience. #HolyHolyLand
The following morning we
went to Haifa or what we were told “The Muslim Quarter” of Tel Aviv, here we
saw where the Muslim population of Israel lives. Little known fact
Israel is home to some 1 million Muslims, who live side by side peacefully with
their Jewish neighbors. It was here in the Muslim Quarters that I had the best
Hummus I have ever eaten. It was better than Sabra or anything CPK or
Cheesecake Factory ever served. The restaurant was tiny (in fact it
was so small I could not do a Facebook check in, or post a review about it on
Yelp) the staff was very friendly, it was family owned and every one seemed
very happy to see us. Thank God I took picture of my meal and uploaded it to
Instagram #HolyLandHummusIsTheBest.
After
our time in Tel Aviv, we traveled to the West Bank a place where Muslim live
above ancient Jewish ruins, the kingdom of Solomon. West Bank
also has a lot of Jewish explorers, anthropologists, and curators, these people
take posts in the middle of nowhere, and they spend their day and night digging
for relics. Along the way, we unearthed Israel's nuance and
complexity and we made sure not discuss any legal basis for the presence of
these post. One contrast between the West Bank and Israel is Internet speed and
lack of Wi-Fi, but the landscape shifted continuously and thankfully to our
selfie-stick we captured every streaking moment and posted them
on Instagram with #HolyLandFun.
The
West Bank is home to many Muslims and everyone I met was happy and friendly.
Many of the Muslims I met were Graffiti artists, and unlike in California they
were allowed to express their artistic creativity on a special wall built just
for that. I was so inspired by them. I came to learn that the wall that lay in
front of us was a wall of solidarity, built by both Palestinians and Israelis
together. Built to protect the innocent. The tour guide mentioned it was 25’
feet in elevation and over 400 miles in length, and I immediately thought: wow
that is like a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas and halfway back #IMissVegas. My friend Youssef
who was accompanying us made a joke, he is a Arab-Israeli and a
Muslim very modern and open minded he even likes to eat Sushi, Youssef
said: imagine you stack 3 Michael Jordan on top of each other, and then add
Spud Webb to the top and you still can’t see to the other side. We were 15’ people
on the tour, and Youssef made us all laugh out loud #LOL. After our visit to the
border, I decided that my next trip will be the Great Wall of China. #HolyLandWall #Inspired #ChinaNext
It was
after our time in the west bank that we made it to the Golan height. The
mountainous area is one if Israel’s best tourist attraction, from wine tasting
to snowboarding to hot natural baths Golan has it all. Our host respected
my religious restrictions and did not take me wine tasting, but the rest went.
Here again I was reminded by Temecula wine country, with the wineries and the
communities on all the hilltops and in surrounding areas. Like Southern
California in Israel you can snowboard and sunbathe in the same day. #HolyLandCoolness
Finally
we made it to Jerusalem. What a magnificent city. It is here that all 3 Abrahamic
religions have roots. Here Jesus walked, Mohamed ascended to the sky and Moses
built his temple. Jerusalem was sublime, and a shinning example of how all
three religions co-exist. Watching Jews pray at the Wailing Wall, Muslims have
their Khutba in Al-Aqsa mosque, seeing
Christians congregate in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre made
me feel closer to Allah and realize nothing is impossible. We can all put our
hate and differences aside and celebrate each other and respect our religions,
if they did it in Jerusalem we can do it everywhere. #HolyLandBliss
What I realized after coming back home to California is that we as
Muslims can learn so much from Israel: here is a nation that brought together a
wide diverse Jewish population and they were able to co-exist peacefully and
build a strong nation with a powerful Jewish identity. As I see Muslim nations torn apart by
civil wars and Muslim societies driven to extremism and terrorism, it is a gentle
reminder that we can be Like Israel, if we apply ourselves more and celebrate
our diversity and understand others better, instead of being consumed by
irrational hate and negativity. #HolyLandHope
*Satire by Z & Z
*Satire by Z & Z
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